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Deniz Undav, Germany’s man of the moment, was the player sitting alongside Julian Nagelsmann at the press conference at the World Cup venue in New York New Jersey. He has scored three goals and provided two assists in his first two games, placing him among some illustrious names as one of the leading goal contributors at this World Cup – alongside Argentina superstar Lionel Messi, Brazil’s Vinicius Junior, Norway’s Erling Haaland and France’s Kylian Mbappé.

“It’s mad to be on a list with the biggest players in the game,” Undav said on Wednesday evening. The VfB Stuttgart forward also revealed that Messi is a player he particularly admires. In Germany’s final group game against Ecuador on Thursday night (22:00 CEST), Undav will have the chance to add to his tally, although he will not start the match, as Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann confirmed at the official pre-match press conference.

“It’s absolutely fair to ask whether we should make changes or not. We’ve thought about it a lot as a coaching staff and spoken to the players,” Nagelsmann explained. “But in the weeks leading up to the World Cup, the key point was that the team needed time together, because they hadn’t had many matches as a group. With Jamal Musiala, Felix Nmecha and Kai Havertz, we have players who were out for parts of the past year and haven’t played a lot of football. We still have a game that we want to win, and we also want to use it to prepare for the knockout stage, with everything that involves. That applies to the players who start, but also to players like Deniz, who have been outstanding coming off the bench.”

“The most important thing is that the team win”

Nagelsmann stressed that there is a clear thought process behind the selection calls. “We have a plan. We explained it to Deniz and to the other players as well. We don’t make decisions on a whim, but because we’re convinced by them. That’s why tomorrow we’ll make the changes we feel we have to make,” the Germany coach said. Antonio Rüdiger will replace the injured Nico Schlotterbeck, who travelled to New York with the team on Wednesday, albeit on crutches. David Raum also comes into the starting XI in place of Nathaniel Brown, with the Eintracht Frankfurt player being left out as a precaution because of slight adductor discomfort.

“I try to contribute, whether I’m coming off the bench or starting,” Undav said. “The most important thing is that the team win. That comes first, and everything else has to come after that. I’m just trying to do my job, and that’s worked well in the first two games.” Manuel Neuer will again start in goal. “The first two matches haven’t really tested the goalkeeper,” Nagelsmann noted. “There haven’t been situations where Manu has had to make saves and find his rhythm.”

German fans were out in force on Wednesday, not only at the German House of Soccer, the fan hub in Manhattan, but also around landmarks such as Times Square. After the home-like atmosphere in Toronto, the 2-1 win over the Ivory Coast and Germany’s place in the round of 32 as group winners having already been secured, Undav and Nagelsmann are looking forward to another lively occasion – even if Ecuador are expected to have the stronger backing inside the stadium on Thursday.

“Both sets of fans can really go for it”

“There are 500,000 Ecuadorians living in the greater New York area, so they have a big fanbase here, and rightly so. It’ll be loud tomorrow, but there will be plenty of German fans there too. I’ve already seen pictures from Times Square today,” Nagelsmann said. “We’re looking forward to it. Both sets of fans can really go for it.” Undav, already a fan favourite, added: “The stadium is huge, so the atmosphere could be brilliant again. There will be a lot of German fans there, and I hope the support is as good as it was against the Ivory Coast.”

Despite already topping the group, Nagelsmann refused to look ahead to Monday’s round-of-32 clash in Boston. “We shouldn’t get carried away,” the Germany coach said. “We’ve won two games, one fairly clearly and one by a narrow margin. The focus now is on Ecuador. After that, we’ll see who we play on Monday. We should stay in the here and now and not look too far ahead.” So far, that approach has served both Nagelsmann and Germany’s in-form striker Undav well.